Thinking Like McDonald's...

McDonald's are the kings of business and the kings of extracting maximum value from each customer. Do we all think like them?

"Would you like to super size that for 30 cents?"

"Add a McFlurry for only 99 cents"

It works because the price is so low that most people don't even blink an eye and simply say "go ahead!"

"Would you like a DVD slideshow for only 50 bucks?"

What things can you think of that we can offer for ridiculously low prices that make clients think "why the hell not" but at the same time provide an increase to our bottom lines?

I would not do this. Especially not with the clients that I attract. They would percieve this as being nickeled and dimed. If the stuff is cheap or free to provide, build it into a package and raise the price for the additional value. Or keep it in your back pocket to throw in if you think it's going to make the difference betweeen going to contract or not. IMO.

I think 'Thinking Like McDonalds' invaded the wedding industry about 6 yrs ago when the economy collapsed.......I keep hoping the economy will improve so these weekend warriors can find other sources of income and the wedding market becomes a little less saturated with photographers. But perceived value is where you are going to do well and adding little things to your package to increase the bottom line cant hurt if you meet your original expectations first....but....if you are doing this to get to your expectation goals.. then there is a problem

umphotography wrote in post #14710561
I think 'Thinking Like McDonalds' invaded the wedding industry about 6 yrs ago when the economy collapsed.......I keep hoping the economy will improve so these weekend warriors can find other sources of income and the wedding market becomes a little less saturated with photographers. But perceived value is where you are going to do well and adding little things to your package to increase the bottom line cant hurt if you meet your original expectations first....but....if you are doing this to get to your expectation goals.. then there is a problem

I think you've somewhat missed the point?

Peacefield wrote in post #14710508
I would not do this. Especially not with the clients that I attract. They would percieve this as being nickeled and dimed. If the stuff is cheap or free to provide, build it into a package and raise the price for the additional value. Or keep it in your back pocket to throw in if you think it's going to make the difference betweeen going to contract or not. IMO.

It's not about going to contract... it's about after the contract has been signed, the package agreed and the photographs about to be delivered. Much the same as when you have placed your order in McDonald's and they ask you if you want to supersize it... you aren't going to walk out of the store in disgust, are you? You either say "No thanks" or you do what most people do and accept the offer... because it is usually too good a deal to turn down.

It's what all businesses that are successful long term enterprises do... extract maximum value whilst minimizing cost.

im more of a cafeteria kind of guy. i dont run packages. i have a session fee and i charge a la carte per print, of course i dont do weddings either.

so dont worry about this weekend warrior ruining the industry...

I don't want to hassle the client with "ridiculously low priced" extras and I can't think of anything that's that ridiculously low priced that would make any meaningful contribution to my bottom line.

nicksan wrote in post #14710872
I don't want to hassle the client with "ridiculously low priced" extras and I can't think of anything that's that ridiculously low priced that would make any meaningful contribution to my bottom line.

Say you shoot ten weddings and upsell an extra $100 from each... long term it adds up to substantial sums.

Not something worth thinking about?

McD's works because they have thousands and thousands and thousands of locations, serve millions and millions and millions of customers, buy supplies at massive quantity discounts, and pay their staff meager wages.

None of that is like a wedding photography business.

charro callado wrote in post #14711043
McD's works because they have thousands and thousands and thousands of locations, serve millions and millions and millions of customers, buy supplies at massive quantity discounts, and pay their staff meager wages.

None of that is like a wedding photography business.

well,, except for the meager wages part

charro callado wrote in post #14711043
McD's works because they have thousands and thousands and thousands of locations, serve millions and millions and millions of customers, buy supplies at massive quantity discounts, and pay their staff meager wages.

None of that is like a wedding photography business.

So each individual store, each franchise owner is basically doing this to benefit no one but Ronald himself? This model only works in big business? Is that really what you are saying?

I've owned several small businesses in the past and believe me, up selling and cross selling is a great way to boost revenue... covering outlays like insurance and new equipment. It helps to balance the books and provide working capital along the way.

How anyone can say the model of upsell/cross sell won't work in a wedding photography business is foreign to me. How can, for example, extracting an extra $100 from each wedding be worthless?

The point of the thread was to discuss ways to maximise revenue - not for people to say revenue maximisation is pointless

RangersForever wrote in post #14711010
Say you shoot ten weddings and upsell an extra $100 from each... long term it adds up to substantial sums.

Not something worth thinking about?

Well, Time = money.
If it's worth it, then sure, that's another $100. But what kind of effort and time will that be and what will I net out of the $100 upsell? I just don't see it being worth it.

RangersForever wrote in post #14711156
How anyone can say the model of upsell/cross sell won't work in a wedding photography business is foreign to me. How can, for example, extracting an extra $100 from each wedding be worthless?

The point of the thread was to discuss ways to maximise revenue - not for people to say revenue maximisation is pointless

I think people are saying upselling $100 in the grand scheme of things isn't really all that beneficial. But again, it depends on the amount of time and effort goes into upselling $100 worth of wedding photography related product. If it's completely automated and you don't have to lift a finger or spend a minute, then sure, it's absolutely worth it.

What's a typical upsell product for wedding photography? Albums. Creating them is a time consuming task, which is why most people put a hefty margin over the actual cost of creating an album to make it worth their while. Time = money. And if you are the boss/employee, there's only a limited amount of time on your hands.

With super-sizing in fast food, it takes the same amount of time and effort to fill in fries and drinks in bigger containers. They obviously have figured out the cost/benefit ratio and determined that it's worth what probably is a miniscule bump in cost for the bigger containers and extra food/beverage. That comes from dealing with HUGE volumes.

Just a completely different thing with wedding photography.

nicksan wrote in post #14711244
But again, it depends on the amount of time and effort goes into upselling $100 worth of wedding photography related product. If it's completely automated and you don't have to lift a finger or spend a minute, then sure, it's absolutely worth it.

Exactly. It is a gross oversimplification to say: "An extra $100 is always better than an extra $0."

nicksan wrote in post #14711244
I think people are saying upselling $100 in the grand scheme of things isn't really all that beneficial. But again, it depends on the amount of time and effort goes into upselling $100 worth of wedding photography related product. If it's completely automated and you don't have to lift a finger or spend a minute, then sure, it's absolutely worth it.

What's a typical upsell product for wedding photography? Albums. Creating them is a time consuming task, which is why most people put a hefty margin over the actual cost of creating an album to make it worth their while. Time = money. And if you are the boss/employee, there's only a limited amount of time on your hands.

With super-sizing in fast food, it takes the same amount of time and effort to fill in fries and drinks in bigger containers. They obviously have figured out the cost/benefit ratio and determined that it's worth what probably is a miniscule bump in cost for the bigger containers and extra food/beverage. That comes from dealing with HUGE volumes.

Just a completely different thing with wedding photography.

The equivalent would be to upsell to a big fancy album instead of the small base album. The incremental effort is small, compared to the incremental profit.